Seniors lead the way in Aces' 74-47 regular season finale

Dan Peterson '11 and the Aces were all smiles in a Senior Night victory over Haverford

The Aces finished the regular season with a bang, crushing Haverford 74-47 on Senior Night in front of a raucous Dawg Pound. The Aces’ upperclassmen led the way, with seniors Eric Green (12 points), Luke Chambers (10 points) and Matt McKenna (10 points) leading a balanced attack that saw 13 LM players enter the scoring column.

An all-senior line-up led the Aces onto the court and helped build a 14-10 first quarter lead. The highlight of the first half was a textbook fast break that began with a Dan Peterson rebound and outlet, followed by pinpoint passing from Chambers to Darius Hall (8 points) to CJ Jones (4 points, 3 assists) to Green who finished the play with a layup. The sequence was reflective of the teamwork and unselfishness that has come to define the Class of 2011.

Not to be outdone, the underclassmen made the most of their minutes on the floor as well. Mike Robbins had the highlight reel play of the night – and perhaps the season – with a monstrous one-handed jam over a Fords defender in the third quarter that sent shockwaves through the crowd. BJ Johnson scored on his first drive to the basket and drilled two threes en route to ten points. Yohanny Dalembert had one of his strongest shifts of the season, knocking down a ten-foot jump shot and turnaround in the lane. Raheem Hall keyed a 21-11 second quarter run with two steals, a putback and a bucket in transition.

Ultimately, it was a night for the seniors. Colin Eisenstaedt drained a first-quarter three that hit nothing but net off a pretty feed from McKenna. Mark Krantz continued his strong defensive play and Capkin, Jones and Peterson made the most of their extended minutes.

The Aces scored more than 70 points for the third straight game – a feat that was last accomplished nearly a decade ago. The Aces’ running game has gotten its legs and the result is a seven game winning streak heading into the District playoffs.

The Aces will wait to see who their first-round opponent will be. One thing is sure – the game will be at home. For a team that started the season 6-6, a 15-7 regular season, 13-3 league record and home playoff game are nice accomplishments. The Aces, however, are looking for more and hope to keep the momentum going in the coming weeks.